“Judge Denies Mega-Law-Firm’s Request to Litigate Arbitration Confirmation Under Seal”

Eugene Volokh, in his Volokh Conspiracy blog, has flagged this decision in Dentons US LLP v. Zhang, in which the Southern District of New York denied a law firm’s request for leave to file under seal a petition to confirm an emergency arbitration award. Notwithstanding that “the parties agreed to file under seal any papers associated with an arbitration proceeding,” the court held that “while enforcement of contracts is undeniably an important role for a court, it does not constitute a ‘higher value’ that would outweigh the presumption of public access to judicial documents.”